This present invention pertains to alarms, and more particularly to a device for wake a sleeping driver.
Motor vehicles such as cars and trucks are widely used throughout the United States for pleasure and commerce. As the number of vehicles which travel on the nation""s roadways continues to increase, so does the threat posed to the safety of these roadways by drivers who fall asleep at the wheel and cause accidents which maim and kill large numbers of people every year. Such accidents, which often occur early in the morning and late at night, are typically caused by drivers who have driven long distances and fallen asleep due to the boredom and fatigue associated with such drives. Various devices have been developed to wake sleeping drivers to prevent them from causing accidents. Examples of such devices are described below.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,210,905 to Coons discloses a plurality of electrical switches symmetrically arranged around a steering wheel of a vehicle. A rigid member extends continuously about the steering wheel and is resiliently attached thereto. The rigid member is operatively arranged with respect to the plurality of switches so that a normal grasp of the steering wheel causes the rigid member to be displaced and at least one switch of the plurality of switches to change from its normal position. An alarm means is electrically connected to the plurality of switches and a power supply so that an alarm is given if all switches of the plurality are in their normal position. Thus when a driver grasps the steering wheel and causes at least one of the switches to change from its normal position no alarm occurs. If, on the other hand, the driver loosens his grip on the steering wheel so that all switches are in their normal position, an alarm is given to awaken the driver if he or she has fallen asleep.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,834 to King discloses a safety alarm device adapted to be worn on the user""s hand for providing a visible, audible or tactile alerting signal when as a result of drowsiness the user""s hand relaxes.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,353,013 to Estrada discloses an alarm system for warning a driver of a vehicle that he or she is falling asleep. An alarm module which includes an optical beam emitter and receiver directed toward the head of the driver is mounted in the cabin of the vehicle, preferably above the driver""s seat. A reflector is provided to be worn on the head of the driver, either on a hat, cap, headband, or the like. The emitter and receiver system is arranged so that a head position associated with loss of wakefulness causes the alarm system to emit a loud warning to awaken the driver.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,016,103 to Leavitt discloses sleep-detecting driving gloves having strategically placed pressure sensors in the lining of the glove, wherein a driver""s grasp force on the steering wheel is monitored and an alarm system is activated when pressure readings fall outside of accepted range to awaken the driver who may have fallen asleep.
Conventional devices of the type just described suffer from several drawbacks. Typically, the means employed by such devices to wake sleeping drivers, i.e., principally sound, are not very effective in waking sleeping drivers. Accordingly, there is a need for a more effective device.
An apparatus and method for producing a low current, electric shock to wake a sleeping driver to prevent the driver from causing an accident, wherein the electric shock is transmitted via the steering wheel held by the driver. Alternatively, the device can transmit the electronic shock via an element worn on the driver""s body or secured to an article of clothing worn by the driver. The device is programmable so that it can be set to shock the driver at a predetermined frequency and current for a predetermined period of time.